Following government advice, and discussions with my dear friend Helen, I and my puss Goldie, have temporarily moved out of St.Leonards and are self-isolating with Helen at her beautiful cottage deep in the rural countryside of the High Weald. I have lots, indeed more than enough to keep me busy – gardening, working on the advanced draft of my autobiography, reading and taking walks in the woods with her three handsome Gordon Setter dogs.
The property is set within an extensive garden with a stream flowing through it and additionally there are four acres of a large adjoining block of ancient woodland. This is composed mainly of ash, with mature hornbeam, oak and beech with an understorey of hazel. More about this woodland as this rolling blog continues…
A view of the woods during mid-March.
Mid-March. The wood has been so wet this past winter! Being situated on Ashdown Clay which provides little drainage, it’s been tricky walking along the paths but during the past week, the sunshine and drying breezes have transformed matters, we now being able to wear boots instead of the ubiquitous wellies! This weekend, being on north-facing slope, the cottage and the woods are being buffeted by a strong and quite cold north-easterly wind, with sunshine and hail, making the air feel relatively rather bitter; we’ve resorted to firing-up the wood burner!
Monday, March 23 and another harbinger of spring made itself known – a chiffchaff calling from the tall willows and birches on the edge of the garden area. In the woods this week the primroses at the top of the wood look resplendent with their massed two-tone pale yellow flowers being in full bloom.
Small patches of the tiny, delicate moscatel are in flower with their minuscule green and yellow flowers forming small patches. Hornbeam trees and the few hawthorn are now sporting small, delicate light-green leaves that are growing by the day. Hornbeam forms almost pure stands in other sections of the wood; soil or possibly past harvesting practices causing the difference?
Monday, Mar 30. Heard my first blackcap of the year. Carried out a lot more gardening this week – I’ve worked off my small tum but the trouble is I fall asleep in front of the tv!
Friday, Apr 3. More gardening including felling a small ash tree with only a bowsaw – phew! Carried out some repairs to the revetment to the stream that flows under the footbridge to the cottage, and on through the garden. A hum from the bees in the tall willows was easily audible today. The coming anticyclone and its accompanying warmth and southerly winds should bring quite a fall of migrants over the coming days. Reliably informed that the migration has been slow so far this spring.
Saturday, Apr 4. The first warm and sunny day of spring! sat outside late afternoon in shirt sleeves watching the birds – great and blue tits, lesser woodpecker, chaffinch and coal tit. Counted only four aircraft in about an hour, blissfully peaceful!
Monday, Apr 6. After carrying out a large food shop in Crowborough we drove back over Ashdown Forest; the car parks were very quiet. Gorse in flower; other areas of gorse having been cut, the Conservators of the Forest appear to have a monumental battle upon their hands fight the large areas of gorse. I consider they should resort to the traditional practice of selective burns of small areas. Conversely, reading in the RSPB’s latest update on their local reserves, they are going to create enclosures at Broadwater Warren and plant gorse. I wonder if future wardens of the reserve will be riled by this introduction! They have also discovered that they have the uncommon potter wasp, the nearest colony previously in Surrey.
Wednesday, Apr 8. Saw my first brimstone butterfly today; they are not so common hereabouts? Looking through the woods, there is now a green haze with the millions of tiny leaves unfolding on the trees, especially the hornbeam and hazel.
Thursday, Apr 9. Orange-tip butterfly seen for first time. While sitting on the patio at about 6pm, did I fleetingly see a cuckoo fly over (or a kestrel)? Have today started renovating a teak outdoor table; I bought on-line, a set of cabinetmakers scrapers and made a start on what will be a slow process – an antidote to self-isolation!
Friday, Apr 10. Good Friday. Saw my first holly blue butterfly today.
Saturday, Apr 11. Have finished queaking the long chapter in my autobio concerning my 20 years of being involved with using Exmoor ponies for conservation grazing. Carried out two repairs to the deer fencing around our woodland. The neighbouring woodland has little understorey as the deer browse-off nearly all of the young saplings and flowers. (See the two following pics).
Sunday, Apr 12. Easter Sunday. First small white butterfly seen, temperature reaching into the low 20’s C. Road was very quiet today there being no shops open; very few aircraft seen today including two into Gatwick. We spent much of the day sitting on the patio overlooking the woods, finishing off with taking dinner there in the early evening.
Monday, Apr 13. Bank Holiday. A strong, cold NE wind today with the sun not appearing until late-morning. We spent a couple of hours in the afternoon plotting and marking out the un-fenced section of Helen’s boundary in the woodland.
Sunday, Apr 19. This morning we went for a walked in the main part of the wood that is not owned by Helen and is in effect, abandoned.
It contains a few more substantial oaks and beech’s and plenty of middle-sized hornbeam and ash but little ground vegetation or saplings – anything edible being eaten by deer (they excluded form our part of the wood). Bluebells are however are now putting in an appearance. Found several largish medieval iron ore quarries (see below) and a piece of iron slag; hundreds of years ago this wood would have been a hive of industry. Will go back tomorrow and take some pictures. It’s like entering another world – on the face of it, appearing untouched by man and no outside of the wood sounds whatsoever – mystical!
Sunday, April 26. Thought I may have heard a garden warbler singing? Along a footpath just outside the boundary of the wood, I saw my first small copper and comma butterflies; also found the showy marsh marigold in a nearby boggy area. I shall be returning home tomorrow, so am signing-off this particular blog.